Hello and welcome to the All4Ed Flash where we are cutting through the noise to bring you the latest on education policy news. I’m Rebeca Shackleford.
For the next few weeks, we will be focusing on education pathways and exploring the ins and outs of dynamic programs from the classroom to Congress!
This week, we are turning our attention to Indiana, a state that has long been a leader in helping its high schoolers access advanced coursework. One of the ways that the state does this is through the Indiana College Core.
“The Indiana College Core is a block of 30 credit hours of general education, college-level coursework which is guaranteed to transfer between all Indiana public colleges and universities.”
The college core is one way that Hoosiersare able to earn college credit while in high school, with options includingAdvanced Placement courses, dual credit and dual enrollment courses, and the College-Level Examination Program. Some are even able to graduate from high school with two years worth of college courses under their belt, streamlining their time to degree in college and saving their families much of the cost of a higher education.
However, many students do not have access to the college core at their schools. Thankfully, the Indiana General Assembly is considering an innovative bill called “Higher Education Matters” (Senate Bill 8). A group of Republican state Senators, led by Senator Jean Leising that would require every high school to offer the College Core – or create an implementation plan, by the 2025-26 school year.
This bill has already passed the State Senate and is likely to pass the State House. Along with its high school provisions, it includes several other innovative measures including establishing a reverse transfer policy, allowing students who transfer from two-year to four-year institutions before completing their associates degrees to be awarded associates degrees after completing certain credit requirements. This program would apply to students who earned their initial credits while in high school through dual enrollment or early college programs.
We applaud Indiana’s leaders in their efforts to ensure that more young people will have access to postsecondary education and more avenues to successful completion.
We will keep you updated as the assembly makes its decisions.
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